


Runaway's Virelai

by gnostic_heretic



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Courtly Love, F/F, F/M, Forbidden Love, Fugitives, Royalty/Knight, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 18:09:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15846630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gnostic_heretic/pseuds/gnostic_heretic
Summary: “Besides,” Natalya said, “I’ve come to quite enjoy the fugitive’s life, lady Erzsébet. And I’m sure you understand, don’t you? We are the same.”





	Runaway's Virelai

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the transtalia server's weekly prompt- "Fugitive"  
> Inspired by Ariosto's Orlando Furioso and the legends of the Matter of France, with Belarus as princess Angelica, and Hungary as valiant lady knight Bradamante, Romania as lovable soldier Medoro.

Erzsébet looked at the fugitive princess, at the way the flames colored her face of the colors of sunset, and she understood.

She understood why paladins fought to their death and lost their reason for her. She understood the shadows in her tired eyes, the restlessness of her thoughts.

"Why do you keep running away?"

She looked at her, puzzled by her question.

"Why do you want to know?"

Erzsébet thought about it for a moment. "I guess I'm on my own escape too, your Majesty."

Princess Natalya smiled at her. Her face had the traits of her people- the sharp lineaments of the eastern populations, with high cheekbones and bright blue eyes. Erzsébet felt a flame lighting in her own heart, an ache she desperately tried to swallow.

"You see, I have not seen my family in years. They didn't really approve of the life I chose."

"They didn't want you to be a knight?"

"No, well," Erzsébet laughed, _because of course she was going to think that without knowing her past_ , "no, Princess, of knightly education I've gotten plenty since the day I was born. Swordfight, combat, strategy, morality. You could say- you could say the reason I live this life is because I can hardly do anything else."

She tightened her ponytail, and the princess mirrored her, adjusting a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I see. I don't really get it, Lady Erzsébet, but I also do."

"How come?"

"I'm the same as you," she smiled, "all my life I've been nothing but a bride-to-be, a prize to be won by men in the name of love. And I've had enough of it, and that's why I ran away."

"You don't want to marry?"

"That's the irony." Natalya's cheeks colored pink now, flushed as a rose in May. 

(Erzsébet looked at her in awe, wishing she could have half of her grace.)

"I ran away because I was tired of men's love. I didn't want to marry anyone. I never wanted to see a man ever again, and spend my life romancing dames, a life I'm sure you're well acquainted with, Lady Knight. Not like I would have minded, for ladies are prettier, and wiser, and easier to love."

(Erzsébet blushed bright as a berry, wondering how she could see through her so quick.)

"And yet... it seems that I'm unable to do anything else."

Princess Natalya wrapped herself tightly into her linen shawl, staring into the flames.

(Even with  commoner clothes, she still seemed so regal in her pensive meditation.)

"I fell in love with a man, and I think I will marry him soon.”

Erzsébet gasped. “Who is it, your Majesty? He must be a man of great value, for一”

“He’s from the enemy’s side.”

Deadpan. The silence grew louder with every crack of the flames.

“I suppose your brother the King will never give his consent.”

“And neither will Vladimir’s family.”

_ Vladimir _ . Erzsébet winced at the name, for she knew of him: a beautiful young man, for sure, blond and valiant,but  whose only skill in battle was playing dirty, with tricks that belonged more to a fool than to a knight. She had only fought him once in this war, and decided that the glory was not worth it一 she could swear that the man must be protected by some sort of  _ witchcraft _ .

“Your Majesty, if you allow me to ask, how do you presume to marry him without anyone’s consent?”

Natalya smiled at her again, a cunning, knowing smile.

“Since when has love needed anyone’s consent anyway? You know very well, lady knight. Life will find a way, happiness will find a way.”

Gracefully, Natalya stood up, kissing Erzébet’s cheek goodnight before going to sleep.

(Erzsébet could feel her heart pounding so hard, she thought it might escape from her, come out of her throat and thump on the ground at the feet of the Princess…)

“Besides,” Natalya said, “I’ve come to quite enjoy the fugitive’s life, lady Erzsébet. And I’m sure you understand, don’t you? We are the same.”

* * *

Erzsébet didn’t know it yet, but those words were the last she would ever hear from her.

And the blushing smile of the princess, and the feeling of her lips on her own ceeks, would be burned into her memory forever.

Yes, Erzsébet understood. She understood why men chased after her, she understood why they would want her hand and love so badly that they lost their reason, all for a single woman.

And for that, she prayed that her escape would be safe, and her life happy. From one fugitive to another.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> When I saw this prompt I could not stop myself- lately some reads and documentaries have sparked my love for Italian literature and the Matter of France in general, from medieval texts to renaissance adaptations, all over again.  
> I guess my goal with this was just... to have fun, first, and secondly, to offer different interpretations of the story: a motivation for Nata's escape, sort of a critique of the role of "princess prize" that Angelica has originally- and Bradamante's story as a trans narrative, because honestly, why not!  
> I hope you can enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!


End file.
